Santa Monica 2025!

By Recruitment Directors Brielle Lee and Josh Santhirasegari

It was a sweltering day, the sun out, the air heavy, and the newest editions of the intern class arriving in APASA.

We trekked towards the metro, riding the carriage of the LA horses to arrive at our one destination: Santa Monica. From failed tap cards to supposedly using a tap one-for-all all-for-one situation, we journeyed to successfully arrive. 

But, as it was scorching, many of us were parched, our throats heavy from the walking and blistering sun. Some didn’t make it, some did, but we all were in arms together to drag our weak legs to our nirvana, the oasis, the paradise, Sharetea. 

Huzzah! Sharetea, as its name implies, shared our collective experience of wondrous bonding, as we sipped and skipped towards the pier, which danger awaited us…..

FWOOSH. The hot, humid wind burst out like a can of beans, the feeling brutal on our already damaged skin. We were sweaty. We were sandy. But we were determined to finish this. 

Stepping on the sand, we all sat in a circle, dripping with sweat after walking for a few minutes, each step heavier than the last. We played games, giggling, running around, and had everyone do a treasure hunt.

Cartwheels, races, and birds were all factors of this hunt, with each activity gracing a bigger smile each time. Hurrah hurrah!

As the games ended and the winning teams were announced, the cameras came out, and so the pictures began. Watching our interns group together was wholesome, and we truly felt all our hard work during recruitment season paid off. From tabling strangers outside of TCC in the scorching August heat to spending hours in Fertita and Leavey interviewing applicants, every second poured into finding and selecting interns was worth it…we had our 2025-2026 class! 

After endless photos of our E-Board and interns, we concluded our time on the beach. Running around in the heat left many of us tired, parched, and starved, in need of food to replenish ourselves before our journey home. After all, what's an APASA experience without food? 

As we broke into groups, deciding between the endless cuisine options in Santa Monica, we headed to the promenade. Out of nostalgia, some of us headed to Silverlake Ramen, wanting to relive the meals we shared during our intern experiences with the new cohort. Not only was the food good and the memories fond, we also created unforgettable new memories, too, bonding with the interns in conversations and in getting scammed by the over-priced Yogurtland next door.

 While our Santa Monica welcome experience for the new interns came to an end, the memories, conversations, and bonding have not! Since then, we’ve been having lots of fun eating, sidequesting, and exploring together, and we can’t wait to continue doing so! We couldn’t be prouder and happier with our 15 lovely interns <3